Kevin Feeney

• PhD, JD
• Senior Lecturer at Central Washington University

International interest in the psychoactive Amanita muscaria mushroom has grown rapidly over the last decade. Once considered highly poisonous in most of the world, views on its toxicity have recently softened and interest in its psychoactive, and therapeutic properties have increased, as evidenced by a proliferation of online social media discussio...

The English mycological and toxicological literature has, for decades, asserted that muscarine concentrations in Amanita muscaria are insignificant based on a study from the 1950s that demonstrated muscarine levels in fresh A. muscaria mushrooms at a meager 0.0003%. This position has been maintained despite frequent reports of cholinergic symptoms...

https://chacruna.net/decriminalize_nature_drug_reform_settler_colonialism/

Memorial/Obituary

With more than two-dozen contributors and over 450-pages of content Fly Agaric is the most comprehensive book on the iconic red and white-spotted mushroom ever assembled. In the 29 chapters contained herein, the reader is taken on a journey through history, folklore, and the magical landscapes experienced under the influence of the Fly Agaric, and...

In 1968 R. Gordon Wasson first proposed his groundbreaking theory identifying Soma, the hallucinogenic sacrament of the Vedas, as the Amanita muscaria mushroom. Central to Wasson’s theory are the three filters of Soma, which correspond to different steps in the preparation of Soma, as outlined in the Rig Veda. Wasson’s interpretation of the first t...

The Fly Agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria) is best known for its striking bespeckled crimson cap and its frequent depiction in fairy-tales and children’s books. In psychedelic circles it is recognized for its hallucinatory effect, but for a variety of reasons has come to be viewed as a 2nd-tier substance, a mere curiosity among more esteemed plant...

This chapter provides an introduction to the book including an overview of each of the 29 featured chapters.

The use of ayahuasca has been spreading rapidly worldwide; however, no current statistics are available to provide a comprehensive understanding of the scope or pace of this expansion. In the United States, the expansion has included the appearance of the Brazilian ayahuasca religions Santo Daime and União do Vegetal (UDV), underground ceremonial c...

This paper examines the various connections between peyote and Texas, beginning with the archaeological evidence, then examining the history of the Coahuiltecan Indians and their influence on the development of the NAC, followed by an examination of the Texas peyote trade, its history and practices, as well as historical uses of peyote in folk reme...

The concept of “set and setting” has been a guiding principle of psychedelic researchers, therapists, and explorers since it was first outlined by Timothy Leary, George Litwin, and Ralph Metzner in 1963. The idea of set and setting was a radical development in identifying non-pharmacological factors that influence how individuals respond to psyched...

Access to the peyote cactus, a religious sacrament of the Native American Church (NAC), has been regulated by the federal government and the state of Texas since the 1960s. Over the last forty years, the number of licensed distributors has declined, a trend accompanied by rising prices and a diminishing market supply of the psychoactive cactus. Dis...

Peyote, a psychoactive cactus native to parts of Texas and Mexico, has been used in human rituals in North America for several thousand years. During the Spanish Conquest the first law prohibiting peyote’s ceremonial use was introduced. Conflicts between colonial powers and indigenous peoples over the use of peyote have continued into the present;...

This book explains the role that peyote—a hallucinogenic cactus—plays in the religious and spiritual fulfillment of certain peoples in the United States and Mexico, and examines pressing issues concerning the regulation and conservation of peyote as well as issues of indigenous and religious rights. Why is mescaline—an internationally controlled su...

This book explains the role that peyote—a hallucinogenic cactus—plays in the religious and spiritual fulfillment of certain peoples in the United States and Mexico, and examines pressing issues concerning the regulation and conservation of peyote as well as issues of indigenous and religious rights. Why is mescaline—an internationally controlled su...

This chapter will explore globalization, diversity, and issues of social justice by examining the global expansion of ayahuasca religions through a lens of transnationalism, and against the backdrop of international drug control. Politics have often equated cultural groups with particular national boundaries, and, proceeding from this premise, have...

This chapter will seek to outline the parameters of the “Trust Responsibility” as it relates to protections for the religious use of peyote by American Indians, to explain the significance of this doctrine in the preservation of tribal entities and American Indian culture, and to examine its shortcomings in relation to the preservation of the cultu...

For thousands of years indigenous communities throughout the globe have recognized the therapeutic value of particular hallucinogenic plants. Peyote, a psychoactive cactus, is considered a medicine by many Native Americans, and has been hailed as a cure for alcoholism despite having no “scientifically” accepted medical use. The notion that hallucin...

Since the late 1980s, itinerant South-American shamans and congregations of the Brazilian Ayahuasca religions, Santo Daime and União do Vegetal (UDV), have appeared throughout Europe. At the heart of these traditions is the consumption of ayahuasca, a psychoactive brew containing dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a Schedule I substance under the United Nat...

Since the publication of R. Gordon Wasson’s “Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality” theories have abounded regarding potential historical mushroom cults involving the use of Amanita muscaria. Due to the evanescent nature of mushroom fruiting bodies there is little chance of finding mushroom specimens in the archaeological record; thus research in th...

This paper provides a summary and analysis of the regulation of ayahuasca in Brazil, from its prohibition in the mid-eighties to the recent adoption of CONAD's (Conselho Nacional de Políticas sobre Drogas) 2010 Resolution, which established a set of rules, norms and ethical principles to be applied to religious and ritual uses of ayahuasca. Brazil'...

Overview of the landmark peyote case from the Supreme Court of California which recognized the Constitutional right of Native Americans to use peyote in religious ceremonies.

In 1968 R. Gordon Wasson first proposed his groundbreaking theory identifying Soma, the hallucinogenic sacrament of the Vedas, as the Amanita muscaria mushroom. While Wasson's theory has garnered acclaim, it is not without its faults. One omission in Wasson's theory is his failure to explain how pressing and filtering Soma, as described in the Rig...

The chemistry of the Amanita muscaria mushroom has long been a puzzle for scientists, and many pieces of this puzzle remain in dispute. One recurrent dispute centers on the role of muscarine in Amanita muscaria inebriations and poisonings. Currently, it is widely (and mistakenly) believed that muscarine does not occur in Amanita muscaria in pharmac...